SWAT Kats: A Hangar Divided
by Professor A. Pendragon
Summary: T-Bone and Razor are brought in to protect Callie from Doctor Viper, but some buried emotions and a fiendish katalyst almost make it fatal...


  
SWAT KATS- THE RADICAL SQUADRON  
  
"A Hangar Divided"  
  
By The Professor  
  
  
"This is Mayor Manx-- HAALP!" came the call over short-wave as the  
Turbokat was on routine patrol. It caught both T-Bone and Razor off  
guard, seeing as it had been a mostly quiet evening. Earlier that day  
they had had the usual war of words with Commander Feral, in which he  
swore that he'd unmask the two "hotshot vigilantes", as he always did.  
The rest of the day had been quiet until then.  
  
"Hey, buddy, can you find where that call came from?" T-Bone  
called from the pilot's seat in front.  
"Working on it..." Razor responded from the gunner's chair in  
back. "Got it! His mansion in uptown."  
"Alright! We're on our way"!  
With that, T-Bone pushed the throttle lever forward, and all three  
of the Turbokat's engine's flared to life as the jet roared toward  
uptown Megakat City.  
  
  
Commander Feral, on the other hand, was already there. He was  
driving through the neighborhood on the way to his own house when his  
police scanner picked up the call. "This is Feral!" he called into  
the microphone, "Bring me backup- at the Mayor's Mansion!"  
  
His own police cruiser screeched into action as he raced down  
another avenue and arrived at the Mayor's front gate. Before he got  
out, he heard his niece's voice call over the radio, "Commander, this  
is Lieutenant Feral, I'm on my way with a small guard. Any special  
equipment?"  
The commander took the mic. "Negative, Felina, I'm sure the  
mayor's probably just spooked by something. Just don't make it look  
like it's as much of a waste of time as it is!"  
"Understood. We're on our way. Feral out."  
  
Commander Feral grabbed his shotgun and stepped out of the  
cruiser. He walked cautiously up to the gate of the mansion, checking  
his blind spots. The mayor was easily spooked, so it was probably  
nothing.  
Probably.  
Still, better safe than dead, Feral checked all around him before  
entering his personal code into the gate's access panel. After a few  
seconds, the gate ground open, and he cautiously inched his way up to  
the front door.   
  
When he arrived, two helicopters made themselves seen and heard as  
they landed in the street. A small guard of ten or so Enforcers filed  
out of them, he signaled to have them take strategic positions around  
the mansion, and when Lt. Felina Feral ran up, he signaled for her to  
take the position opposite him on the other side of the doorway. When  
all were in position, the Commander counted to three with his fingers,  
and both he and Felina broke through the door, sweeping their guns to  
look for any trespassers. Two Enforcers followed them, doing the  
same.  
  
They then fanned out, searching for any hostiles. Right before  
the Commander was to yell out "area secure", a small, green tentacle  
lashed out of a nearby closet to knock him down.  
Felina reacted instinctually by firing a warning shot above the  
closet door, and the tentacle slithered back into the small room. The  
Lt. kicked open the door to see the tentacle slither into a hole in  
the floor.  
  
The Commander got back up and rubbed a small red welt developing  
on his forehead. "What in blazes was that?"  
"I don't know, uncle, but it looked like one of Dr. Viper's  
creations."  
"Viper! I thought we'd gotten that mutated sicko for good."  
  
It was then that the two other Enforcers arrived, looking worried.  
"Is everything alright, sir? We heard a gunshot."  
"I'm fine. Get to the second floor, and shoot anything green!"  
  
  
T-Bone engaged the Turbokat's Harrier engines and landed safely on  
the Mayor's lawn. As the two SWAT Kats jumped out of the cockpit and  
ran towards the entrance to the mansion, an Enforcer started to stop  
them, then decided they might help. He would have just "not seen them  
enter" on his report.   
  
Razor began scanning the area using his portable X-Ray beam on his  
glovatrix, until he finally stopped at the floor. "T-Bone! I'm  
getting traces of Catalyst 99 directly below us! You know what that  
means..."  
"Yeah. That sick snake Viper! Let's kick some mutated tail!"  
  
The two kats quickly found a staircase, and ran down only to have  
several small mushrooms attack them. The mutated mushrooms bared  
small fangs and spikes, and apparently some way to move, because they  
were flinging themselves at the SWAT Kats. T-Bone drew his Glovatrix  
and fired a Mini-Tarpedo, throwing a great number of them back and  
sticking them to the wall. A mushroom "brigade" charged Razor, only  
to be netted by a missile from his Glovatrix.   
  
After the last of the Shiitake menace had been dealt with, the two  
kats arrived at the bottom step, and were quickly disabled by two  
large tentacles. The large, green vines knocked them alongside the  
head, knocking them both unconscious.  
  
  
Feral's team had done a sweep of the second floor, only to come  
across a broken transmitter and the Mayor's toupee. That was, until  
one of the patrolmen fell down a rather large hole in the mayor's  
bathroom. The two Ferals and the other patrolman gathered around the  
hole, and saw the sprawled body of the first Enforcer lying motionless  
on the basement floor, two floors below.   
  
Suddenly a large tentacle leapt up, out of the darkness, and swept  
the three kats down into the hole.  
  
  
T-Bone and Razor bucked wildly against the two large tentacles,  
though not getting anywhere. Razor stopped struggling long enough to  
study the large green vines, whose origin was unseen-- hidden under  
another hole in the basement floor. He tried to move his paw enough  
to use his Glovatrix, but the vine's death grip was too strong. After  
a few moments, T-Bone realized the futility of struggle, too, and  
stopped.  
  
It was then that an Enforcer patrolman fell from an unnoticed hole  
in the ceiling, and landed with a crack on the basement floor. Razor  
could tell by the way he landed and the sound he made that he'd died  
on impact.   
  
Shortly afterwards a tentacle shot out of the hole in the basement  
floor, up into the hole in the ceiling, and returned with Commander  
and Lieutenant Feral, along with another Enforcer in its grasp. The  
two groups were surprised to see each other-- each had expected the  
other to come and help them.   
  
That was when two sinister, glowing yellow eyes appeared in the  
darkness. A hissing came from the direction of the eyes, which grew  
into an evil laugh. A green-striped tail lashed out from the shadows,  
and came to rest at a set of large, green, scaled feet, which stepped  
out into the light. Half of the evil green kat stood still in the  
shadows, but everyone knew who it was.  
  
"How nice of you to join usssss, Commander..." came the voice of  
the green kat.  
"Viper! Release us at once!" bellowed Commander Feral.  
"Oh, but Commander, I have great plansssss for you..."  
  
The rest of the evil form of Doctor Viper stepped into the low  
light, his white labcoat singed and torn, his green, scaled skin  
rippling. The once proud scientist strolled up to the tentacle  
holding the three Enforcers, gave it a gentle stroke, and it dropped  
them heavily on the floor.   
  
The patrolmen brought his shotgun to bear, but another mutant  
Shitake mushroom jumped at him from the shadows. He screamed in pain  
in terror, but the mushroom had used it's spikes to sever his larynx.  
Felina moved away from the horror, but it did not attack them. It  
simply sat menacingly on the body of the dead Enforcer, waiting for  
them to do something stupid.  
  
Luckily, Felina and the Commander had lost their weapons when the  
tentacle grabbed them, otherwise they might have done the same thing.  
  
"Let them go, Viper!" T-Bone shouted. "If you need someone for  
your twisted experiments--"  
Viper let a hiss-chuckle go. "My dear SSSSSWAT Katssss, your time  
will be sssssoon enough!"  
  
The mutated snake-kat wandered over to a large green pod sitting  
in the corner of the room. "Ssssoon, you all will join your mayor..."   
  
All four kats suddenly realized that a large, bushy tail was  
protruding from the back of the pod. "What are you doing to the  
mayor, you creep?!" the Commander demanded.  
"I am making him into one of my sssservantssss. In a few days, he  
will follow my every command!" Viper said, and gently stroked the pod.  
"And I suppose you intend to do the same to me?"  
"Oh, yessss. But firssst I need one more kat. Once I have deputy  
mayor Briggssssss, I will control the three mossst powerful katssss in  
Megakat City, and dominion will be mine!!"  
  
While Viper was speaking, one of his mushrooms absentmindedly  
wandered near the vine holding the SWAT Kats. When he erupted into  
peals of evil laughter, the Shiitake jumped, and poked the tentacle  
with one of its spikes. The vine released Razor and T-Bone, and  
slithered back into its hole in pain.   
  
The two kats aimed their Glovatrixes at Viper, who in a sweeping  
arm motion sent his mushroom "squadron" at them, disappeared down the  
hole, first grabbing the Commander with his long, prehensile tail. He  
lightly tapped another tentacle, which grabbed the pod containing the  
mayor, and the myriad of vines disappeared down the hole in the  
basement floor.  
  
T-Bone and Razor fired furiously, gluing the mushrooms to the  
walls with Mini-Tarpedos, and Felina had snatched up her fallen  
comrade's shotgun and was fragging as many of the Psycho salad bits as  
possible. When only a handful were left, they too disappeared into  
the hole.   
  
T-Bone was ready to jump in after them, but Razor called out, "We  
can't go after him, buddy, we need to protect Callie!"  
"Agreed." said Felina. "I'll get some security around the Deputy  
Mayor ASAP. Any help you two can offer will be appreciated."  
  
The three kats ran up into their aircraft, determined to stop  
Viper from getting to Deputy Mayor Callico Briggs.  
  
----------------------  
II  
  
Callico Briggs sat on her porch, watching the sunset over the  
Megakat City skyline. Her condo afforded an excellent view, one of  
the perks of being Deputy Mayor. She had a slow song playing on her  
stereo, and a wistful look in her eyes. She knew she was being  
over-hopeful... no kat alive would ask her out, simply because they  
thought she was so lofty and powerful.  
  
At this rate, Callie thought, she would go out with anyone who  
asked. Maybe even the Mayor. But the more she thought about it, the  
worse off the idea became. After awhile, she actually laughed at it.   
  
The wind began to blow, and she hugged herself for comfort. Her  
pink sweatsuit kept her warm, but not as much as she liked. Her  
blonde hair blew in the sudden gust, and she ran a paw through it.  
The nights had seemed so much colder...  
  
Her phone began to ring in the living room, and she thought aloud,  
"Oh, come on, Callie. Let the machine get it." After the third ring  
however, she decided it might be important and raced to answer it.  
"Deputy Mayor Briggs." she answered.   
"Deputy Mayor, this is Lieutenant Felina Feral at Enforcer  
Headquarters. We have reason to believe that Doctor Viper is  
targeting the executives of Megakat City, and you may be his next  
target. He's already captured the Mayor and my uncle." came the  
reply.  
"Oh, my. Surely he can't get me here! I'm twenty stories up!"  
"We know that, Miss Briggs, which is why we're only posting guards  
and having some choppers do routine sweeps of your area. We'll be  
keeping a close eye on you, and we suggest you work out of home for  
awhile. You'll be easier to protect that way."  
"I understand completely. The Mayor and Commander are still alive  
then?"  
"Yes, so we think. Until Mayor Manx is recovered, though, you're  
mayor of Megakat City."  
  
Callie took a moment to think of it. She had thought of running  
before, but had never really had the guts to do it. Now, until the  
Mayor returned, she was Mayor Briggs.   
Her first thought was, "Now I'll NEVER get a date!"  
  
She actually said to Felina: "Thank you, Lieutenant. Keep me  
informed."  
"Understood... Mayor Briggs. Feral out."  
  
Callie hung up the phone. She strode back onto the porch, taking  
her wine glass from the table. Standing on the balcony, she took a  
delicate sip from her glass. An Enforcer chopper flew across the  
horizon, and Callie removed her glasses to see it properly.   
  
"I guess the SWAT Kats will have to work double time for  
awhile..." she said to no one in particular.  
  
  
Several hours later, the Turbokat landed on the roof of Callie's  
building. T-Bone and Razor leaped out of the jet, and were  
immediately stopped by one of the maintenance staff for an autograph.  
They both grudgingly signed a piece of paper he provided, and they  
then proceeded down the elevator shaft to Callie's floor.  
  
"Do you think we're actually getting TOO popular, Razor?" T-Bone  
inquired.  
"I dunno, buddy, but if this keeps up, it might work against us."  
his partner replied.  
"Yeah, I can see it now. We're trying to apprehend some bad kat  
and we're run over by autograph hounds."  
"Well, I'll just have to build a "Fan Detector" into the  
Turbokat!"  
  
They both laughed at this as they stepped out of the elevator and  
found their way to Callie's room. The two Enforcers at the door let  
her know of their arrival, and cleared them to enter.   
  
The SWAT Kats strolled as nonchalantly into her living room as  
possible. They both knew the other had the same love for Callie, but  
no one had done anything about it. It had been that way for three  
years, and showed no signs of changing. T-Bone was the first one to  
greet her.  
  
"Miss Briggs, we're here and ready to help. What can we do?" he  
asked.  
"Well, I guess one of you can stay here while the other patrols in  
your jet... if that's okay with you?" she replied.  
"Oh, no problem Miss Briggs. I volunteer for first watch." Razor  
chimed in.  
  
T-Bone threw his partner a look, but started his way up to the jet  
anyway. After he had been in flight for awhile, he looked up at the  
picture of Callie on the jet's control panel.   
  
Actually, it was of the three of them. T-Bone sighed, and  
considered his feelings for her. He remembered one day when he was in  
the mechanic's shop as Chance, and Razor as Jake, when he saw her on  
the news.  
"That Callie sure is pretty..." Chance had said.  
"Yeah, but she'll be pretty mad if we don't get her car running!"  
Jake had reminded him.  
  
But one thing they had both known-- she was in love with at least  
one of the SWAT Kats, not Jake and Chance, her own mechanics.   
  
T-Bone guided the jet into a gentle curve as he scanned the ground  
for any of Dr. Viper's mutant minions, and continued to ponder their  
relationship...  
  
  
Razor took in the view from Callie's balcony, and realized why she  
liked it so much. The sunset seemed to last forever as it drifted  
behind the tall buildings of downtown. As the last slivers of light  
began to disappear behind City Hall, Callie slid up beside him. "It's  
beautiful, isn't it?" she said.  
"Oh, yes, Miss Briggs. I've never seen anything like it."  
"Really? Where do you live?"  
  
Razor threw her a look over his shoulder. "Can you blame me?" she  
responded.  
  
Razor decided he couldn't. Enough people had wanted to find out  
who the SWAT Kats really were, and almost no one knew they were  
mechanics on the edge of the city. Her mechanics...  
  
Whenever he was Jake, Razor longed to be with Callie. When he was  
Razor, he was around her almost on a daily basis, yet the two never  
coincided. When he was Razor, it was professional. When he was Jake,  
he'd always hoped that she would notice him, but Chance always stole  
the show.  
  
"Can I offer you a drink, Razor?" Callie inquired.  
"Oh, thank you. Do you have any Milk?" Razor responded.  
"What do you think I am, an aristocrat?" She quipped, and returned  
shortly with a can of milk and a glass of wine for herself. She  
raised her glass in toast. "To the capture of that snake, Viper."  
"I'll drink to that!"  
  
They did, and Razor caught the Turbokat flying by out of the  
corner of his eye.  
  
'Sorry, buddy...' he thought.  
  
  
T-Bone flew in front of the building, and he could have sworn he  
saw the two of them drinking on her porch. "Great. I'm the one with  
my tail in the air, and he's the one having drinks with Callie." he  
thought aloud.  
  
He once again looked at the photograph of the three of them. It  
was a crime in his mind-- he and his best friend in love with the same  
she-kat. He tried to distract himself with thoughts of his  
short-lived affair with Ann Gora, the ace reporter from Kat's Eye  
news.  
  
He remembered what she said: "It was good for our careers, and it  
was good physically, T-Bone, but we just live in two different  
worlds..."  
  
In his eyes, it might as well have been Callie saying it...  
  
  
Callie had invited him in from the porch, and Razor had uneasily  
sat down in one of her overstuffed chairs in her living room. Seeing  
the jet fly by at that time was just a little too odd for him. It was  
as if he was starting to enjoy Callie's company, then the Turbokat had  
reminded him that the other SWAT Kat felt the same way about her.  
  
"So, tell me, what's it like defending Megakat City from your  
perspective?" Callie said, trying to make polite conversation.  
"It's... uh... interesting. You see alot of the city from a jet.  
You also get to be good friends with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor..."  
Razor responded with a smile.  
  
Callie smiled in response and sat down in a chair opposite Razor.  
"You don't think it's a bit chilly in here, do you?"  
"Oh, not really, Miss Briggs."  
"Well, I think it is. Can you get the patio door?"  
  
Razor walked over and shut the door. When he returned, he  
discovered that Callie had turned on her gas fireplace. "There. Much  
better..." she said, and rubbed her hands by the fire. The SWAT Kat,  
a little unsure, walked over and sat down where he had before.   
  
Callie bit her lip, an action unseen by Razor. 'Am I really doing  
this?' she thought. 'Dammit Callie, I realize how lonely you are, but  
trying to get a SWAT Kat?! Are you nuts?!'  
  
She decided she was. No kat in MKC was going to ask her, so she  
was going to make the first move. Even if he was a SWAT Kat.  
  
She turned to Razor, and with a pleasant smile, inquired "What's  
the personal life of a SWAT Kat like?"  
  
  
  
T-Bone had decided that his shift was over after five hours. He  
landed on top of Callie's building, and once again walked to her  
condo. When he arrived, Razor and Callie were sitting on her couch,  
chatting. "I hate to interrupt, but it's your shift, buddy."  
  
"Oh, sure. I'll be back in five hours, Miss Briggs." Razor  
hastily responded.  
"Oh, okay. Whenever. Safe flying..." Callie said to Razor as he  
walked out.   
  
T-Bone couldn't help the look Razor shot him, and he only shot a  
sly look back. After he heard the jet take off, he asked Callie  
"Where do you wish me to stand guard, Miss Briggs?"  
  
"Oh, anywhere that's convenient. Won't you have a seat?"  
T-Bone sat on the couch at a pretty far distance from the Deputy  
Mayor. This is what he'd been waiting for all evening, but now he  
wasn't so sure. "Thank you. May I ask what you and my partner  
discussed all this time?"  
"Oh, not much. I just asked him what being a SWAT Kat was like.  
What the kat behind the mask was like..."   
  
Callie removed her glasses and blinked at T-Bone. 'An excellent  
maneuver--' she thought to herself. 'But was it timely?'  
  
"Did he tell you anything?" T-Bone responded in a sly tone. 'This  
isn't bad conversation,' he thought to himself. 'But is it what you  
want?'   
  
"Only that he liked what he did, being a pilot, and being your  
friend."  
  
'Ouch!' T-Bone thought. "Well, we've saved the city countless  
times together. You get to really know a kat that way." He said.  
"I can imagine."  
  
It was a tense silence, and the realization worked its way into  
T-Bone's mind. 'Look at the way she's acting! SHE'S hitting on YOU!'  
It took him a second to formulate a response.  
  
"So, the life of a Deputy Mayor must be as intense."  
Callie laughed. "If you say so. Some kats may like political  
drama, but frankly I like real action. The paperwork is the worst  
part of it."  
"I can imagine."  
  
Callie developed a slight smile. 'Look at the way he's acting!  
It's working!' she thought. "Can I get you something to drink?" she  
offered.  
"Yes, please."  
  
She returned shortly with two glasses and a bottle of wine.  
T-Bone couldn't read the name or vintage, but it didn't matter. He  
knew where she was headed with it.  
  
The question was, would he go along with it?  
  
  
Razor returned to the jet and stubbornly piloted the Turbokat into  
the skies over MKC. He vented a few quiet exclamations as he almost  
lost control in a sudden updraft. "T-Bone should be flying, not me!"  
he said, and looked at the photograph that T-Bone had tacked to the 3D  
Radar screen. It was of the two of them and Callie, right after they  
had saved her from Doctor Viper the first time.   
  
Razor let out a sigh in the quiet of the cockpit. It was a  
releasing sigh in many respects; it was a sigh of anger, grief, and  
love all at once. It was love, though, not only for Callie, but his  
partner whom he'd known as a brother throughout the years. A brother  
with whom he'd shared many experiences, and who he always wished to be  
best man at his wedding.  
  
The only real damper on it was that they had always wanted the  
same she-kat to marry.   
  
Razor adjusted his heading and stared out into open space,  
thinking about his brother, and how they were both in love...  
  
  
T-Bone was rather mystified. More at himself than what Callie was  
doing, which would have been confusing enough. She was obviously  
trying to put the moves on him, which was something he'd lied awake at  
night thinking about.  
  
The odd part was, he wasn't fielding any of it. He was confusing  
the hell out of himself.  
  
"Miss Briggs, I think this outsteps the bounds of--" He began.  
"T-Bone, it's not all that scandalous. I just want a back rub..  
with those muscles I'm sure you can really release some tension..."  
Callie came back, who had surprised him with it by disappearing, then  
reappearing wearing only a pink bathrobe.   
"Miss Briggs, I--"  
"Please, can't you at least do this for your Mayor?" Callie  
punctuated this last one with a slight air of command.  
T-Bone only smiled slightly. "Well, if it IS a direct order from  
the Mayor..."  
  
Callie gave a smile that only pretended to be innocent. 'This is  
NOT happening! This is NOT happening!' she kept thinking, but it was  
indeed happening. She had gone beyond the bounds of good taste  
completely and was now not only hitting on... but trying to SEDUCE a  
SWAT Kat!   
  
She was confusing the hell out of herself.  
  
She laid down on her stomach, stretching our luxuriously on her  
couch. T-Bone, now VERY unsure of what was safe and what was not, set  
his Glovatrix aside, and gently kneaded her shoulders.  
  
Callie let out a contented sigh. "Can you press down a little  
harder?"  
"Anything you say, Miss Briggs."  
  
The SWAT Kat did indeed press a little harder, but the nuances of  
everything happening were not lost on him. He still couldn't believe  
it was happening, and he wasn't sure if he wanted it to.   
  
He showed no sign of making sense to himself any time soon.  
  
  
  
Felina had not been having a good day. Now that her uncle had  
been taken hostage by Doctor Viper, Lt. Steel had been put in charge.  
Of course, he had only wanted the title. When it came to most of the  
actual *work*, he'd hand it down to her.  
  
She sat at her desk and cursed him again. "Not only MY work, but  
his AND my uncle's! Damn him..."  
  
Her fingers ticked away at the old word processor on her desk,  
trying to fill out the seemingly countless forms that had amassed on  
her hard drive. An Enforcer courier walked into her office and  
dropped a stack more of papers onto her desk. Felina threw him a  
look, but he could do no more than shrug.   
  
In the end she couldn't blame him. They were all bogged down by  
all the city leaders disappearing, and the SWAT Kats were busy  
guarding Miss Briggs. That meant more work for them, scince the SKs  
couldn't help them with the petty crime.   
  
Felina then grabbed the stack in both hands and plunked it into  
her lap, and proceeded to file through them. Somehow, in the sea of  
reports, something caught her eye. A shipment of a mind-altering  
chemical had been stolen from Megakat BioChemical. This wasn't too  
unusual, alot of BioChemical's missing stock was sold on the black  
market.  
  
The thing that WAS unusual was the name. "Catalyst 42".  
  
She grabbed the phone in front of her. "This is Lieutenant Feral!  
Get me Megakat BioChemical, and get on the horn with every other  
pharmacutical company in the city. We need the antidote to Catalyst  
42!"  
  
------------------------  
III  
  
Razor had been flying for an hour now, and he was steadily getting  
angry. He thought more and more about how T-Bone/Chance had always  
stolen the show, and how he had been the more agressive one in the  
quiet race. His face had slowly grown from a frown into a scowl, and  
his mind narrowed on two things: Callie and T-Bone  
  
He had had enough. Spending the past hour flying the Turbokat had  
given him plenty of time to think about Callie. "I'M the one who  
deserves her!" he declared, and landed the jet on top of her building.  
Quickly arming his Glovatrix, Razor hopped onto the roof and pushed  
past the maintenance kat, who wanted to ask him about the odd green  
residue that had developed on the underside of the jet...  
  
  
The massage had been done with for a few minutes, and they just  
sat on the couch, looking at each other. Callie was hardly dressed,  
and T-Bone was visibly sweating. They both knew what they wanted, and  
what they were feeling.  
  
They just didn't know WHY they were acting on it. Now, of all  
times.  
  
Callie finally broke the laden stillness by resting her paw on top  
of his. T-Bone almost started at this. 'Her touch is electric...' he  
thought, which surprised him. He never thought like that.  
  
Whereas Callie was thinking: 'Such strong paws... such a katly  
physique...' And that surprised her as well, because she never  
thought like that. *Especially* when as rapt as she was.  
  
T-Bone was done thinking. He was done second-guessing himself.  
So, he simply began to give in, and leaned foreward...  
  
Callie closed her eyes in anticipation. This was what she had  
always wanted... At least, she *thought* that's what she had always  
wanted...  
  
The two of them were poised. Eventually, T-Bone cradled her face  
with his paw, and slowly began to bring their faces together...   
  
Closer...  
Closer...  
  
Only a millimeter away were their lips, when the sickening thumps  
of metal being buried into flesh were heard. Two muffled screams came  
from the other side of her door, right before a loud blast blew it  
inward.  
  
The two of them instantly stood, and T-Bone ran for his Glovatrix  
in the sudden cloud of dust and debris. He tripped over an ottoman,  
however, and fell with a thud to land at a set of yellow feet. He  
looked up at his attacker.  
  
"She's mine, you hear me?! Mine!" the attacker bellowed, and  
fired a projectile from his arm. T-Bone rolled out of the way quickly  
and got to his feet, realizing who his attacker was.  
  
Razor had tried to kill him, and had killed two Enforcers to do  
so.  
  
"Razor, you don't understand!" he tried to explain, not wanting to  
harm his friend.  
"Oh, I understand all to well... *buddy*!" Razor yelled, and fired  
another Mini-Octopus at him. Ducking and rolling, T-Bone managed to  
evade it as Callie's bookcase was shattered.   
"Razor, come on! Let me explain!"  
"You've explained enough! Now, we don't have to fight for her any  
more..."   
  
Razor leveled his Glovatrix at T-Bone, who had rolled into a  
corner to escape the last one. There was a soft 'click' as it loaded  
another projectile, then they both turned as Callie started screaming  
at them.  
  
"STOP IT! STOP IT!! Can't I just love SOMEONE!!!!!" she cried,  
and ran into another room, where crashes were heard.  
  
Somewhere, in the recesses of Razor's mind, he knew that what he  
was doing was wrong. He also knew... almost as if it was in his very  
soul... that he loved Callie, and had to help her. This urge-- no,  
*instinct*-- overcame his unfounded anger for T-Bone, and he ran into  
Callie's room.   
  
Also, T-Bone knew that he loved Callie... but he never had wanted  
to be so intimate with her, at least not without letting her know that  
he was also Chance. Despite his reputation as a ladies kat, he had  
wanted to marry Callie before being that intimate with her... at  
least, as intimate as he was planning...   
  
So, he too ran into her room to help her. Halfway there, the two  
friends looked at each other. There was a moment of clarity as they  
both realized that something was horribly, horribly wrong with their  
minds, but they also knew that they could do nothing about it, so they  
finished into Callie's room.  
  
Her room was absolutely in shambles. She had apparently torn it  
apart just now, and was weeping loudly by her bedstand. They slowly  
approached, and T-Bone opened his mouth to say something, but Callie  
turned suddenly and looked at them with the most intense mixture of  
sadness and anger that they had ever seen. Her hair was extremely  
disarrayed, and apparently she had been wearing maskera, as it ran  
down her face.  
  
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!" she shouted, and grabbed a shard of a  
fractured mirror. She waved it at them menacingly. "You ruined my  
life!! I was never able to love, because I was waiting for YOU!"  
"Which one?" Razor put out.  
  
Her eyes swept the room to settle on them again. She fell on her  
knees and yelled as she sobbed, "I don't know!!"   
  
Razor kneeled beside her and she pointed the shard at him. She  
slided away from him, and fell back on her arm. In all of the  
commotion, her bathrobe had become untied, and the SWAT Kats did  
indeed see more of the Deputy Mayor than normal.  
  
But it didn't matter. This wasn't Callie. And they weren't  
themselves, either.  
  
She was breathing heavily, and she had a terrible thought. And  
yet, in her altered state, she thought it would solve everything. She  
slowly turned the shard around in her hand...   
  
The SK's thought to stop her, but she would just stab either them  
or herself anyway, so for a tense second, the room was still...  
  
And it was broken by glass shattering as a small canister fell  
into the room from a newly broken window. The canister then burst  
open, filling the room with a white cloud. The SKs and Callie coughed  
wildly and thought to get out, but they were soon overcome.  
Staggering to the floor, they passed out, and the last thing they  
heard were many footsteps entering the apartment...  
  
  
"Move in!" shouted Felina, half listening to her hand radio. She  
waved her arm, and a small squad of Enforcers ran into the Deputy  
Mayor's apartment, stepping over the two dead guards at her door.  
When the "all clear" went out, she stepped onto Callie's balcony and  
waved at the helicopter outside her bedroom window, the one that had  
fired the canister into the other room.   
  
"Give Conway my thanks!" she shouted at them, and the helicopter  
flew off into the night. She had asked Doc Conway to find the  
antidote to Catalyst 42 (Catalyst 6X9), and he had delivered it to the  
helipad within minutes.   
  
"Lieutenant! I think one's coming around!" yelled an Enforcer  
from another room. Felina ran into the bedroom to find Razor  
stirring.   
"Medic!" she yelled, and one came to Razor's side, and placed an  
oxygen mask on his face. This was quickly shunned as Razor blinked  
the fog from his head and sat up.  
"Lieutenant Feral! What happened?"  
"You've been under the influence of Catalyst 42, a mood enhancer.  
It basically lowers the mind's defenses and lets emotions and feelings  
flow freely."  
Razor nodded. "But... how did you know to come here? I mean, did  
you expect... this?"  
Felina only smiled. "What do you think I am, blind? I've seen  
the three of you together enough to know how it would effect you."   
  
She turned to the medic, who was working on the Deputy Mayor.  
"She alright?"  
"Yes, ma'am. Got some nasty glass cuts, and she's breathing a  
little too deeply, but we'll have her stabilized soon." the medic  
replied, and gave Callie a shot of something.  
Felina nodded her agreement.   
"But, Lieutenant, how...?" Razor inquired, still shaking the  
cobwebs from his head.  
"Well, there was an odd green mold on the building's ventilation  
shaft, and the same mold is on the bottom of the Turbokat. We think  
Doctor Viper bred the mold to release the catalyst, to make you kill  
each other."  
"And it almost worked. Thanks for the assist."  
  
Soon, T-Bone came around, and Callie stirred. When they were both  
conscious, they explained everything to them.  
"So, no word on Viper's whereabouts, then?" T-Bone inquired.  
"I'm afraid not. However, we raided the swamp, and found what  
looked like his hideout. We found the pods containing my uncle and  
the Mayor. Doc Conway is working on them as we speak."  
Callie and T-Bone nodded. "So, is it all over?" Callie asked.  
"I don't think so, Deputy Mayor. Viper's still at large, and we  
don't know if we can help the Mayor or the Commander without some of  
his knowledge. We need him back."  
"Well, if you don't mind, that's for another day..." T-Bone  
declared, and ambled toward the bedroom door. Razor soon followed,  
and Callie walked after them. Eventually, the three of them stood in  
her living room, looking at each other.  
  
There were no words. Felina had said that it only lowered  
barriers, so it was what they had all really thought and felt. Callie  
was the first to speak.  
"I love you both. But to love like that..."  
"We know, Miss Briggs. Someday, we'll work it out." T-Bone said,  
and looked at his friend, who threw him a nervous smile.  
"Sorry I tried to kill you, T-Bone..." he said, and scratched the  
back of his head.  
T-Bone smiled. "Not the first time. Won't be the last.  
Accepted." he said, and hit his friend on the back.  
  
Callie smiled at them both, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss  
T-Bone on the cheek, and kissed Razor on his own cheek, as well.  
"Thanks, guys. I know that there are two kats that I can always count  
on."  
  
There was a round of good-byes, and on their way out, Felina told  
Razor that since he was under the influence of a drug, he wouldn't be  
held responsible for the two Enforcer's deaths. He half thanked her,  
and the two SWAT Kats went back up to the roof to find that the  
Enforcers had used flame throwers to burn off the mold.  
  
"Aww, crud! We have to re-paint the jet!" Razor exclaimed.  
"Yeah, and we also have to patrol for Viper tomorrow!" T-Bone put  
in.  
  
The two SWAT Kats jumped into the Turbokat, and found it still  
operational, if not smelling like burnt leaves. They took off into  
the sky, which was slowly turning into sunrise. The reds and blues  
played off of each other as they headed the opposite way into the  
desert.  
  
"Say, buddy?" T-Bone said.  
"Yeah?" Razor responded.  
"What can we do about Callie? We both love her like crazy..."  
"Well, T-Bone, let's just stay friends for now. You know what  
they say: 'A hangar divided will not stand'."  
"Yeah. Let's be the SWAT Kats, and worry about love later.  
Besides... don't you have something about Lieutenant Feral?"  
"Are you trying to get me away from Callie?"  
"Just a thought..."  
  
The two friends laughed at each other, and T-Bone brought the jet  
in to land.   
  
One thing was sure: This would not be a 'hangar divided' for a  
long time...  
  
THE END  
  



End file.
